TYPHOON MAN-YI (BEBENG) CONTINUES TO GAIN STRENGTH OVER THE WARMER WATERS OF THE PHILIPPINE SEA...NOW A CATEGORY TWO SYSTEM..AIMING FOR OKINAWA & KYUSHU, JAPAN.

+ FORECAST OUTLOOK: MAN-YI is expected to continue intensifying as it traverses the Northern Philippine Sea & shall move in a generally NW'ly track for the next 2 days. Majority of the computer forecast models remains the same, showing a path towards Okinawa-Southern Japan area this weekend (Jul 13 to 15). The 2 to 4-day long-range forecast (Jul 13 to 15) shows the system becoming a Category 4 Typhoon (220 km/hr) as it passes very close to the East of Okinawa, Japan Friday afternoon, Jul 13 (around 2 PM HK Time) and shall accelerate NE to ENE passing along the beach-front-coastal areas of Kyushu, Shikoku & Honshu. The eye of MAN-YI is forecast to make landfall over Sou-thern Honshu or just to the South of Kyoto, Japan by Sunday afternoon, Jul 15. During its forecast passage over Southern Japan, MAN-YI is likely to become an Extratropical Cyclone.

+ EFFECTS: MAN-YI's over-all circulation remains large and continues to cover most of the Philippine Sea and portions of Micronesia. Overcast skies with moderate to heavy rains & gale-force winds of 55-65 km/hr is expected along the affected areas within the outer circulation.

+ MONSOON INTENSITY FORECAST: The advance 2 to 3-day forecast shows the typhoon enhancing moderate to strong Southwest (SW) Monsoon over most of the Philippines begi-nning today July 11 extending thru the weekend (Thu to Sat). Cloudy skies with intermittent passing rains or thunderstorms can be expected across the country w/ SW'ly winds of 30 km/hr or higher, becoming more frequent along the Western sections of the Philippines including Metro Manila, Subic Bay, Pangasinan, Palawan, Mindoro, Panay & Negros. Mudslides and flooding is likely along river banks, low-lying & flood-prone areas of Western Philippines. Stay tuned for more Monsoon updates in the coming hours.

+ TROPICAL CYCLONE WATCH: N/A.

Important Note:Please keep in mind that the above forecast outlook, effects & current monsoon intensity, and tropical cyclone watch changes every 06 to 12 hours!_______________________________________________________________________

* - Based on PAGASA's Philippine Storm Warning Signals, # 4 being the highest. Red letters indicate new areas being hoisted. For more explanations on these signals, visit: http://www.typhoon2000.ph/signals.htm

** - Based on the Tropical Cyclone's Wave Height near its center.__________________________________________________________________________________________>> To know the meteorological terminologies and acronyms used on this update visit the ff: